Outlining novel scenarios for improved therapeutic cancer vaccines: the PANVAC paradigm

The approval of sipuleucel-T has placed cancer vaccines on the verge of becoming an effective modality. However, there is much to define to understand the intricacies from the multiple confounding factors in vaccine immunotherapy. In this article under review, some patients with metastatic cancer who had limited tumor burden and minimal prior chemotherapy responded immunologically and clinically to PANVAC. This study highlights the need for selecting appropriate patient populations for testing of therapeutic vaccines. The rationale of this study is that patients with a healthier immune system are capable of responding to a vaccine, thus providing long-term tumor control through immune surveillance.